Your printer worked fine on your old router, but now it won't connect to your Eero 6+. The printer's WiFi setup times out, AirPrint can't find it, or it connects but drops off the network an hour later. The Eero 6+ is a solid mesh system, but a couple of its defaults, especially the single SSID and the WPA2/WPA3 transitional mode, can confuse printers that expect the simpler WiFi your old router used.
Start here: open the Eero app, tap Discover, eero Labs, and make sure WPA3 is off. It's disabled by default on the Eero 6+ (WPA2/WPA3 transitional is the factory setting), but if you ever toggled it on, that alone will block most printers. Then move your printer within six feet of the gateway eero for the initial WiFi pairing, run the printer's setup wizard, and once it's connected you can move it back to its normal spot.
If that doesn't get it, here's the rest of the playbook.
Why Printers Struggle with the Eero 6+
The Eero 6+ is a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (AX3000) mesh router that uses a single SSID for both bands. That single SSID means the router decides which band your device connects to, and it almost always steers phones and laptops to 5 GHz. Your printer, meanwhile, probably only supports 2.4 GHz, and it can't see the network the same way your phone does.
Other common culprits include WPA3 being enabled in eero Labs (even though it's opt-in, it's easy to forget you turned it on), printer firmware that doesn't handle modern WiFi authentication, and mDNS discovery failing across the mesh nodes. Eero Plus subscriptions and guest network isolation can also trip up printer discovery in ways that aren't obvious at first glance.
Check WPA3 in eero Labs
WPA3 on the Eero 6+ is opt-in through eero Labs, and it's off by default. But if you enabled it at some point, maybe to secure a newer phone or laptop, your printer won't be able to authenticate. Most printers made before 2022 simply don't support WPA3.
Open the Eero app and tap Discover, then eero Labs. If WPA3 shows as on, toggle it off. Reboot the printer and try joining the network again. You can turn WPA3 back on after the printer is paired, but I'd leave it off unless you have a specific reason to enable it.
Pair Close to the Gateway
Printer WiFi setup is fragile. The handshake between the printer and the router needs a solid signal, and if you're trying to pair from across the house, it'll fail over and over. Bring the printer into the same room as the gateway eero, the one plugged into your modem, for the initial setup.
Run the printer's WiFi setup wizard from there. Once it connects, you can move the printer to its permanent location. The mesh will handle the rest.
Use the Printer's Own App
The Eero 6+ doesn't let you split the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands into separate SSIDs. That's the main complaint people have when a printer won't connect. Since you can't force your phone onto 2.4 GHz the old-fashioned way, the best workaround is to use the printer manufacturer's own app for setup.
Apps like HP Smart, Canon PRINT, Epson iPrint, and Brother iPrint&Scan handle the band-specific connection logic behind the scenes. They know the printer needs 2.4 GHz, and they manage the handshake with the router differently than your phone's generic WiFi settings do. Use the official app, not a third-party scanning tool.
Update the Printer's Firmware
Older printers often shipped with WiFi firmware that was written for routers from five or six years ago. If your printer worked fine on an older router but can't even see the Eero 6+, outdated firmware is a likely cause. Check the manufacturer's website, HP, Canon, Epson, and Brother all have firmware downloads, and update via USB cable if the printer can't connect wirelessly.
After the update, rerun the WiFi setup. I've seen this fix printers that seemed completely dead on a new mesh system.
On the Eero side, firmware updates happen automatically through the app, so you don't need to do anything there. Just make sure the app is up to date (iOS 13+ or Android 9+).
Force a mDNS Refresh
If the printer is on the network but doesn't show up for AirPrint, the problem is mDNS discovery, not the printer itself. AirPrint relies on Bonjour/mDNS to broadcast and discover printers across the network, and the Eero 6+'s TrueMesh can sometimes slow that propagation down.
On your iPhone or Mac, toggle WiFi off and back on. That forces the device to send out a new mDNS query. On a Mac, you can also go to System Settings, Printers & Scanners, remove the printer, and add it again. This usually wakes up the discovery within a few seconds.
Power-Cycle the Gateway Eero
If mDNS propagation is stuck across the mesh, restarting the gateway clears it. Unplug the gateway eero from power, wait 60 seconds, and plug it back in. Don't restart the satellite nodes, they'll reconnect automatically. Give the mesh about five minutes to stabilize, then try printing again.
This is a simple step that fixes more AirPrint issues than people expect. It's not a deep fix, but it works when mDNS gets confused.
Keep the Printer on the Main Network
If you use the Eero 6+'s guest network, devices on it are isolated from the main network. That means your printer won't be visible to your phone or laptop if they're on different networks. Check the Eero app to see which network each device is connected to. Both the printer and your phone or computer need to be on the same network.
If you find the printer on the guest network, remove it and reconnect it to the main network from the printer's WiFi setup menu.
Set a Static IP for the Printer
Once the printer is connected and working, give it a static DHCP reservation. This keeps the printer at the same IP address even after the Eero 6+ reboots, and it makes AirPrint discovery more consistent over time. Open the Eero app, tap Settings, Network Settings, Reservations & Port Forwarding, and add a reservation for the printer's MAC address.
You can find the MAC address on a printed network configuration page or in the printer's settings menu under WiFi or Network status.
Reset Only the Printer's Network Settings
If the printer has been through multiple failed connection attempts, its WiFi memory might be corrupted. You don't need to factory reset the whole printer, just the network portion. Look for an option called Restore Network Defaults or Reset LAN Settings in the printer's menu. The exact phrasing varies by brand, but it's almost always under the network or WiFi section.
After the reset, run the WiFi setup wizard fresh, with the printer near the gateway eero. Starting clean usually resolves the ghost issues that come from partial connection attempts.
